Walmart Neighborhood Market To Open In February In West Hartford

Walmart will open its newest Neighborhood Market in West Hartford on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The 59,000 square-foot, full-service grocery store, in the Bishop's Corner shopping area, is the company's first Northeast location — and one of the largest in the Neighborhood Market chain.

Walmart Director of Community & Media Relations Bill Wertz says the store, which occupies the former site of Adam's Supermarket at 333 N. Main St., will feature bakery, deli, prepared foods, fresh produce, frozen foods, meat and dairy and health and wellness departments, along with a pharmacy.

The store will also offer a selection of general merchandise, such as stationary, paper goods, household and pet supplies, all in an easy-to-navigate format. It will compete with nearby stores such as Big-Y, Whole Foods and the Crown.

"Neighborhood Markets offer the convenience of a small store with the low prices of a big store," says Wertz. "We think the Hartford area is going to love this concept."

A hiring center for the store opened in December and is still accepting applications. When fully-staffed, Wertz says the West Hartford location will employ more than 90 full and part-time workers. Hours will be 6 a.m. to 11 p.m, seven days a week.

Walmart launched the Neighborhood Market chain in 1998 and has 230 of the stores across the country. The company has plans to build additional Northeast locations — two in New York and one in New Jersey.

A second Connecticut Neighborhood Market, in a former Shaw's space in Bristol, could open as early as fall of this year, says Wertz.